Kabir Cares

College Park's trusted source for daily news and updates since 2009

Bike to Work Day – This Friday

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On May 16, 2023

In Announcements

The Washington, DC region’s Bike to Work Day (BTWD) will be held on Friday, May 19, 2023. This FREE event is a healthy way to start your day. There will be pit stops in DC, VA and MD for bikers to register. The first 15,000 who register and arrive at one of these pit stops by bike will receive a FREE T-shirt.

You can register for the City’s pit stop here: https://www.biketoworkmetrodc.org/register.

Visit the City of College Park’s pit stop at City Hall 7401 Baltimore Avenue from 6:30 am to 8:30 am. Stop on by to say hello, register or pick up some of our free giveaways, food, and beverages. The event is rain or shine!

Calvert Hills Civic Association Annual Meeting, – Wednesday, May 17 at 7:00PM

By

On May 16, 2023

In Announcements

The next Calvert Hills Citizens Association (CHCA) meeting will take place this Wednesday at 7PM on zoom.
At this meeting, the association will elect the CHCA board for 2023-2024. They’re interested in growing the size of the board, so please reach out to the association president Dan Oats (email: daniel.mcgary.oates@gmail.com), if you’re interested in helping serve the community by joining the CHCA board or would like to learn more.
In addition, the association will also review plans from the City to update the 2-5 y/o playground equipment on the Calvert Hills Playground and the Old Town playgrounds. You can see the draft plans below:
If you would like to contribute any feedback on these plans before the meeting, please do so here.

Council Set to Approve Detailed Site Plan and Related Departure of Discovery Point

By

On May 15, 2023

In Announcements


The Terrapin Development Company and Brandywine Realty Trust want to turn a parking lot at the corner of Baltimore Avenue and Campus Drive near The Hotel at UMD into two buildings. One will be an 8-story office building with stores on the ground floor, and the other will be a 4-story office building with stores on the ground floor.

The first hearing about the proposal is on June 8, 2023. The developers have to improve the area for pedestrians and bikers as part of the plan and budget. Based on the square footage, they need to know if they have to do everything at once or if they can do it in phases. The project will cost around $150 million to build, bringing in about $1.8 million yearly in property taxes.

At this week’s meeting, the City Council will consider supporting the approval of the detailed site plan and the related Departure with conditions.

City Council to Discuss Senior Community Initiatives: Aging in Place Home Repair Program and AARP Livable Action Plan

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On May 14, 2023

In Senior citizens

At next week’s meeting, the City Council will consider two important action plans for our senior community. (a) Aging In Place home repair program guidelines and agreement with the Habitat for Humanity and (b) AARP Livable action plan. Please see more on these two agenda items below:

Aging in Place Home Repair Program Guidelines and Agreement with Habitat for Humanity

The City Council allocated $300k from ARPA for a home repair program to assist low-income senior homeowners. Staff worked with Habitat for Humanity to develop program guidelines. The Council prioritized seniors living in Lakeland, low-income, and long-time homeowners. Habitat will manage the program with a 10% administrative charge. City staff will provide assistance to applicants, and reports will be submitted monthly. The program will begin on July 1, 2023, and end by December 31, 2026. Only ARPA funding is committed at this time. The City Manager will sign the Operating Agreement and ARPA Sub-Recipient Agreement. At this week’s meeting, the Council will consider approving the program.

Discussion of AARP Livable Community Action Plan

In September 2020, the Mayor and City Council of the City of College Park adopted a resolution to support the city’s application for membership in AARP’s network of age-friendly communities. As a member of this network, College Park created an action plan that addresses various goals to improve the quality of life for seniors, students, and other residents. The city applied for funding from the Prince George’s County Planning Department’s PAMC program to create the action plan, which was approved in May 2021.

Community participation was solicited during the creation of the action plan, and five priority action areas were identified: Housing, Transportation, Communication and Information, Social Participation and Health Services, and Community. The draft Action Plan was presented to the Mayor and Council in June 2022 and received additional stakeholder and staff feedback. The City plans to submit the adopted Action Plan to AARP by June 5, 2023, and implement recommendations over the next three years, ending in June 2026.

The Action Plan will be a working document that guides and prioritizes actions to increase College Park’s livability score.

At next week’s meeting, the City Council will provide feedback and guidance on the final action plan and addendum as presented by the Senior Advisory Community Livable Community Subcommittee so that plan can be adopted and submitted to AARP

College Park Considers Increasing Compensation for Mayor and Council Members

By

On May 13, 2023

In Council

Currently, the Mayor and Council do not receive yearly salaries for the time they spend. They receive stipends. The compensation for the Mayor is $10,500 per year. Council members receive compensation in the amount of $7,000 per year.

City’s Human Resources staff reviewed public data from nearby cities and municipalities with similar population sizes and budgets.

Based on the comparison data, it is the staff’s professional opinion that a change in salary is warranted at this time.

From the City Manager’s perspective, elected officials in College Park should be compensated more comparably to Bowie, Gaithersburg, and Tacoma Park, given the dynamics of the City being home to the University of Maryland and the economic engine of Prince George’s County.

During the research, Staff discovered many municipalities had a Compensation Review Committee comprising residents to recommend elected officials’ salaries. The committees surveyed their city’s websites to seek public input and used this data to determine their recommendation on compensation for the Mayor and Council.

Someone seeks office mainly to perform a civic duty and to support their community. However, financial compensation was always a lower-ranking criterion for running for office. The Mayor and Councilmembers work many hours, sometimes averaging hours that equal a full-time job conducting city business and political and public engagement.

At next week’s meeting, the City Council will discuss Mayor and Council’s yearly compensation.

City Publishes Final Special Election Results

By

On May 12, 2023

In Election

Today, the City’s Board of Election Supervisors counted a few more mail-in votes through postal services.

Based on the counts, the certified election results are as follows:

  • Bryan Haddad – 19 votes
  • S.M. Fazlul Kabir* – 1,008 votes
  • Catherine Hope Kennedy – 469 votes
  • Denise C. Mitchell – 354 votes

There were 14,263 registered voters as of April 18, 2023.

Steering Wheel Lock Giveaway!

By

On May 12, 2023

In Public Safety

Join the Prince George’s County Police Department at the Mall of Prince George’s on May 18th for a Steering Wheel Lock Giveaway! Owners of Hyundai or Kia’s (2015-2020) can show proof of residency and ownership to claim. Stay safe – get there while supplies last!

Preliminary Special Mayoral Election Results

By

On May 11, 2023

In Election

This afternoon, the City announced the Preliminary Results of the Special Election for Office of Mayor.

This count includes ballots from Early voting, Election Day, and mail-in ballots received.  These results will be updated on Friday, May 12, to include ballots that will be collected from the Post Office box on Friday at noon.

Ballots that were postmarked by 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 6, may be counted.

There are approximately 51 ballots issued by mail or in person that have not been returned.

North College Park and Lakeland Civic associations Meet Tonight

By

On May 11, 2023

In NCPCA

City’s two civic associations will be hosting their monthly meetings today

North College Park Community Association (NCPCA) Meeting

NCPCA’sregular May meeting will be today, Thursday, May 11th, at Davis Hall from 7:30 pm to 9:30 pm. The city’s Community Development Planner will present on proposed renovations for North College Park’s four public playgrounds. Residents will have the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on the proposed renovations. Any nominations for new NCPCA officers are due at this meeting.

The meeting will be held at Davis Hall, 9217 – 51st Avenue. Zoom information should be available on the NCPCA’s website at https://myncpca.org

Lakeland Civic Association Meeting

You’re invited to the May 11th Lakeland Civic Association meeting, 7-8:30 pm.  This in-person meeting will be held at the College Park Community Center, 5051 Pierce Ave.

The Association will discuss the LV Collective update on Campus Village Shopping CenterPlan to have an online setup (hybrid format) for those that can not attend in person.  Zoom link below:Topic: Lakeland Civic Association Zoom MeetingTime: May 11, 2023, 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)Join Zoom Meetinghttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/85966895395?pwd=OTB6bitFbGQwSjlDQXZobDBnSVBGUT09Meeting ID: 859 6689 5395Passcode: 555422

Help Keep Our Children Safe

By

On May 10, 2023

In School

Our local elementary school children often cross busy and unsafe intersections as they go to school. These intersections don’t have crossing guards to help them crossing these intersections. If you know anyone looking to take part-time crossing guard jobs, please let them know. Details are in the flyer.

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